The season’s over and while Middlesbrough missed out on the play-offs, there were plenty of talking points. Starting in Austria in July and ending at the New York Stadium, Rotherham, Philip Tallentire has gathered together a selection of the best quotes from Tony Pulis and several of his players.

Tony Pulis on Boro’s Alpine boot camp in Austria

“The lads have been fantastic, anybody within the group will tell you they’ve really, really embraced the hard work, they’ve embraced everything we’ve tried to do and they’ve enjoyed it. They’re a good group, they’re really committed to try and do their best and that’s all you can ask them to do.” July 5, 2018

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Pulis on 16-year-old Nathan Wood’s debut against Sandhausen in Germany

“He’s done really well, you want to give the kids a chance to get the feel of it. For Nathan to be around the first team players and first team squad will be very good for his development. It’s a different environment to the Academy in lots and lots of ways and let’s hope he grows. With that potential he’s got a great chance.” July 14, 2018

Pulis on Fabio’s departure to Nantes

“Fabio is one of the best pros I’ve ever worked with. He’s a fabulous lad, I enjoyed his company, he was bubbly and he always gave everything.” July 18, 2018

Pulis on possible departures including Ben Gibson and Adama Traore

“Football’s football, you’re at a football club who have sold players before, that’s what happens and you can accept it and the important thing is to find players who can come in and replace them if they do go. There’s no definites in football, what we’ve got do is make sure if we lose players, then we bring good ones in because that’s important for everybody at the football club.” July 21, 2018

Pulis on Traore’s clause

“I think everybody, especially me, wants him to be here. But we have to do what we have to do, he has a clause, I think everybody knows he has a clause in his contract and if that money is reached it’s almost taken out of the club’s hands. But I’ve got great respect for the boy and everybody here is hoping and praying he stays.” July 27, 2018

Lewis Wing on his impressive pre-season

“I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong, I’ve worked hard, I’ve kept my head down and even if I’m not in the squad I’ll just keep digging away and hopefully it will come. I just keep pinching myself saying ‘it’s real’. I’ve just really enjoyed getting to know the lads, they’re a good group and I’m looking forward to the season with them.” July 28, 2018

Britt Assombalonga and Lewis Wing celebrate at Hartlepool

Patrick Bamford on his Leeds move

“Now that everything is finalised I’d just like to thank Boro and everyone associated with the club for this past year and a half. Naturally There were ups and downs but I enjoyed every minute of it. A special mention to the fans who always gave me their full support.” July 31, 2018

Pulis on recruitment ahead of the opening game of the season

“I want to do lot more, the club wants to do lot more, we need to a lot more. We’re behind, we’re well behind. we’ve got injuries to key players as well. Going into this week well behind where we wanted to be but we know, we have to accept we’re behind and hopefully fingers crossed this time next week we have to accept we’ll be in better situation.” August 3, 2018

Pulis on Patrick Bamford’s departure to Leeds

“A lot of things have been said about Patrick, he had two/three years left on his contract. If he wanted to stay all he had to say was I didn’t want to go. We weren’t shoehorning him out of the club. He’s got a contract, he still had years left. You can’t push people out. Players have got to want to go, Patrick wanted to go. We’ve got a good deal, we want players who want to be at this football club and we’ll go from there.” August 3, 2018

Pulis on Ben Gibson’s departure to Burnley

“It’s agreed, it’s done and we want to thank Ben, an absolutely fantastic professional. In the six months I’ve had at this football club he’s as good a professional as I’ve ever worked with and I spoke to Sean Dyche and Dychey’s got a real, top, top player.” August 4, 2018

Pulis on Boro’s four match unbeaten start to the season

“We’ve done absolutely brilliant, the players that are here have worked very, very hard and got some great results but over a season of 46 games and if you throw the cups in as well, you need a squad of players to see you through and at the moment our depth is just not strong enough, the quality in the group has to be improved and the depth has to be improved otherwise I’m absolutely convinced we’ll just fall away. I think the thing is we’ve got expectations to be at the top of the table and to be at the top of the table you can’t afford to lose the players we’ve lost and not replaced them.” August 17, 2018

Marcus Tavernier and Jordan Hugill celebrate Boro's win over Stoke

Jordan Hugill on his dream move to Middlesbrough

“I’m delighted to be here, it’s something I’ve been thinking of since I was a kid, playing for my hometown club. Obviously I’ve not done it the traditional way by being here as a kid but it’s come around full circle and I’m here now. Everything happens for a reason and it’s maybe my time to be here now. I appreciate my football career because I’ve come into it relatively late and it’s going by pretty fast so I don’t take anything for granted.” August 17, 2018

Pulis on Martin Braithwaite’s transfer request

“It doesn’t help 48 hours before a big game when one of your better players, and he has been so far, is actually thinking of going somewhere else. Unfortunately that’s what happens with the windows and it’s usually at the back end of the window when this happens. It’s disappointing for me, it’s disappointing for the club, and it’s disappointing for all the players. But that’s life, that’s the way it is. You can’t control what’s going on behind the scenes.” August 30, 2018

Pulis’s transfer window verdict

“We missed out on two players we were desperate to get. They were both forwards with pace, we needed that. This morning I thought we would have them, even by 4 o’clock I did. That’s disappointing. We are still missing those players, I would have liked that.” August 31, 2018

Pulis on the breakdown of Martin Braithwaite’s move to Leganes

“Martin will be fine, the situation is, the same every window, you get players who get the smoke blown in their ears, they get put off, they know about the move before us because of agents and that makes it difficult. The game has changed. The clubs and manager are happy once the window has closed. He will be fantastic for us. He needed to come out of it and he will go away now with Denmark and fingers crossed he will knuckle down.” August 31, 2018

Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis and Martin Braithwaite

George Friend on the mood among fans despite Boro being joint-second after drawing with Derby

“It’s frustrating but let’s enjoy being top of the league. I’ll never argue with the fans. They work hard and spend a lot of time working to get here, so they want to see us doing well, winning and creating chances. But at the moment I’m not feeling like we’re top of the league when I’m around the place. I want to feel like it was against Brighton and this point could be crucial. This could be the point that takes us up, so let’s stick at it and hopefully we get what we want come the end of the season.” October 27, 2018

“We played really well in the first half. There’s this disease we’ve got where we create great opportunities and don’t turn enough into chances. When we do, we don’t score enough. It was a wonder goal, wonderful strike. We deserved to be one up. In the second half we had to show what we’ve got, that is plenty of spirit, plenty of resilience. I’m really pleased, Palace are a Premier League club, you know they’ll have moments but we restricted them.” October 31, 2018

Pulis on Boro’s Carabao Cup loss at home to Burton

“The supporters are disappointed like we are. I’m gutted. You don’t get the opportunity to reach the semi-final very often, as a player or a manager. To not take the chances again that we’ve had tonight. If we score first, it takes the weight off the players’ shoulders and you go on to win the game. But we didn’t and then you’re scratching around.” December 18, 2018

Pulis on fan criticism during and after the Boxing Day loss to Sheffield Wednesday

“Whether you like it or not, you’ve got home support who are going to get behind you if you do things well, if you don’t they’re going to let you know, you have to accept that. The supporters of this club, it’s a big club, expect and demand a certain level. It’s a big club with big expectations, people want results, we all do. If the players are not delivering that then the people in the stands have the right to criticise. As a player, person you have to prove you are good enough to play for this club and accept criticism at times.” December 26, 2018

Jonny Howson on the nerve-settling win over Ipswich

“It was important to win to settle the nerves among the fans. We been able to sense the tense atmosphere around the place in the last few games, of course we can. It’s only natural. We’ve had a bit of a wobble and the fans get a bit anxious. They care. They are passionate. They want us to do well and win games and it does get frustrating at times if you don’t get results and as players we all understand that. So it was important to win to maybe ease some of that frustration. For us as players we could sense how it relaxed after the second goal and how the fans really got behind us and that was great. In this side there is a real belief that if we can get a goal ahead then we will win because we have a great record on that and I think the fans know that and believe that too.” December 29, 2018

Pulis on Rajiv van La Parra’s imminent loan move

“He’s an exciting player, he’s got good pace, he adds to what we’ve we need, I don’t think there’s any question of his pedigree, he’s got promoted with Wolves, he’s got promoted with Huddersfield.” December 29, 2018

Braithwaite on completing his move to Leganes

“I’m excited to be continuing my football journey with Leganes and look forward to working hard to help the team achieve its goals. I’m happy to be here, I’ve known for a long time that Leganes has an interest in me. My goal is to score many goals and also to take Leganes to the best position in their history. I am someone who believes in himself.” January 3, 2019

Adam Clayton on the Boro fans following a home draw with Millwall

“We need to get the togetherness back at the Riverside. When this place is bouncing, I’ve been here when this place is bubbling over and it’s an unbelievable place to play. “Booing after 25 or 30 minutes in a home game when we’ve got so much time to get back into it isn’t what the players need or the fans need. We need to stick together as a club, that’s fans, players, everything. When we do get adversity, that’s when we need the fans to turn it around for us and get us on the front foot. We need that excitement and togetherness back at the Riverside.” January 19, 2019

Pulis on signing John Obi Mikel

“I snuck down to his house last week or the week before, I can’t remember it seems so long ago now, and had a couple of hours with him as soon as I found out he was coming back. I had a good chat with him and, like I say, spent a lot of time on it. He has the quality, the stature, the experience, people around will grow. People grow around because of his personality. He played against my teams quite a few times. He was always one that stood out.” January 26, 2019

John Obi Mikel (Image: Martyn Haworth/Focus Images Ltd)

Pulis on Stewart Downing’s contract dispute

“Obviously everyone hopes that gets resolved. Stewart has got a great personality around this place. This week, the way he’s trained, worked, performed, has been testament to him as a professional footballer and a human being. Stewart has been brilliant. I know the situation, he knows the situation. It’s one that has to be resolved between him and the football club. It’s something that was done before I came here but that’s Stewart and the club, but as a person on the training ground and in the dressing room he’s fantastic.” January 26, 2019

Pulis on Boro’s lack of January window business

“Yesterday at 4’o’clock I took all staff to the pub, we had a pint and a good chat about what was going to happen. We knew then that was nothing was going to happen. I’m disappointed. I think everybody around the club will be disappointed. There’s no hiding the fact there were players we wanted to bring in who we haven’t been able to bring in. There are areas I’ve wanted to strengthen for 13 or 14 months and unfortunately we’ve not been able to do that again. It’s been a window where in some respects it’s made the team weaker than stronger, when you think of Danny (Batth) going to Stoke. That has left us a little bit weaker there. Mikel and van La Parra are good signings and will help us at the back end of the season I’m sure.” February 1, 2019

Pulis on Boro’s FA Cup loss at Newport

“Tuesday was eventful right from the beginning. It wasn’t our day from the start to the finish. We spent seven hours on a bus coming back having been on the plane ready to take off for half an hour, 45 minutes, and then having to call the bus back when it was halfway down the motorway. We get on with it, it’s part of life. It’s happened, and we’ve got to get on with it,” February 8, 2019

Pulis on reports of a clash between the Boro fans at Newport and a player/players

“I spoke to the players yesterday about it. Irrespective of what reaction you get from the supporters, as I‘ve said before, we are custodians of this football club but we are not here for life. Those supporters are. They have been born into supporting this football club and a lot of them their lives revolve around supporting this football club and you have to show them respect, even if you are being criticised. I’ve told the players the fans have the right to criticise you. They have the right to say what they want so long as it is done in the right manner. I can understand the supporters getting frustrated. They have travelled 12 hours and stood in the rain for two hours on an open terrace watching their team get beat.” February 8, 2019

Handshakes between the two managers at full time following Newport's win (Image: Getty Images)

Pulis on Leeds’ late equaliser against Boro

“It was disappointing because it comes late and when it comes late in a game it’s always hard to take. Coming in 0-0 at half-time I was disappointed because I thought we should have been in front of the game. But overall absolutely delighted with the players, especially when you think the lads didn’t get back home until quarter to seven on Wednesday after having almost 24 hours of travelling and playing, to put a performance in like was fantastic.” February 9, 2019

Pulis on Boro’s loss to Preston and Dani Ayala’s red card

“I’ve watched it now from four different angles. The referee is a long, long way way from the challenge. Not only that, he’s got players in between him and it looks from our view that he can’t see the challenge. I’ve just said to him, to make a decision like that you have to be 100% sure. You can’t be 50% or 60% sure otherwise you’re gambling. I think he gambles and makes a very poor choice. And it affected the game. At the other end of the pitch we have to be scoring goals. I know I sound like a broken record saying the same thing but again we scored one when it should have been four or five. Even before the red card, if you create the opportunities we have tonight, you have to be more than 1-0 up.” March 13, 2019

Braithwaite criticises Tony Pulis

“I’m not coming back to Middlesbrough, I can’t imagine that. The project I was presented with at Middlesbrough changed completely when Pulis arrived. He has a strange way to play football. The team plays defensively with long balls. It’s really kick and rush. It doesn’t look so good to me. It’s the reason I didn’t play much at Middlesbrough but I never complained.” March 26, 2019

Pulis responds to Braithwaite’s criticism

“The biggest disappointment for me is he’s the highest paid player I’ve ever worked with in the Championship. As a matter of fact, the last club I worked at, which was a Premier League club, he’d be in the top five earners at the club without a question of a doubt. Steve Gibson bent over backwards, backwards, to give that lad everything he wanted to bring him to this club. To show the disrespect he’s shown to this club by saying he’s not coming back, to Steve Gibson, who’s made him a multi millionaire, let’s make no bones about it, the wages and what he’s earning are astonishing. For him to show Steve Gibson that disrespect, and the supporters and his fellow players, it’s just amazing. I’ve dealt with players all my life, some can make your hair curl - not mine. But for him to come out and say that, it just puts him up there as such an ungrateful person.” March 29, 2018

Aden Flint of Middlesbrough shows his frustration at Swansea

Pulis on Boro’s play-off prospects after their sixth loss in succession at Swansea

“It’s not me believing, it’s the players. You’ve got to get the players believing and I think they believe they can. They were as disappointed as anybody else with the way they played in the first half. They’ve got to pick themselves up. We’ve had a good chat about it, I thought the way we played, it wasn’t until five minutes into the second half we really got hold of the game the way we wanted.” April 6, 2019

Pulis on his future after Boro missed out on the play-offs

“I’m hoping Steve (Gibson) is going to buy me a nice bottle of red wine, and then we can sit down and have a chat about things. I’ll speak to Steve. I don’t think I should be saying anything without speaking to him first. That’s the respect I’ve got for the fella. The overriding thing is that it will be me and Steve. I’m not saying anything until I’ve spoken to Steve. The most important thing, and I think he knows it, is that I’ve given it everything I’ve got. That’s what I’ve always done in all my managerial career. Let’s talk about it, and see how things go. I’m not really putting a timescale on things, I’ll wait for Steve to give me a ring. He’s a wonderful man. I’ve got great respect for him, and a great relationship with him. He’s got a great family, the people around him are really good people, and the football club’s a good football club.” May 5, 2019

Pulis on his record at Boro

“Financially, I think Steve will be pleased with what we’ve done over the 18 months. I think if you look at the players who have left the club and the players we’ve brought in, there’s a big balance for us in respect of profit, which needed to happen. The wage bill needed to be sorted out as well, and that’s been part of my remit. I don’t mind that, although supporters will always want the result on a Saturday. They come to see the front of the house, they come to see the show, they don’t realise that at times, the building is maybe falling down behind. That doesn’t bother me. I’m too long in the tooth to worry about what people say and what they don’t say. Steve’s paid me to get a grip of the football club, and I’ve tried to do that, not in a selfish way, but in a way that helps this football club. I don’t think I had to be told the remit – you just look at things. You look at the enormous amounts of money that had been spent, and the wage bill is just phenomenal. That had to be sorted out.” May 5, 2019